Toltec Mounds

Before I took the orchestra job last year, I planned to focus on Arkansas history with my homeschooled students.  

I put that idea on that backburner for a while, but now that it's summer, we are having fun diving into some of our home state's unique history!

Toltec Mound Archeological State Park was the perfect place to start our Arkansas history studies, and the Hibbards were the perfect people to enrich our enjoyment of the day.

Grandma's Birthday

I hope I am this sharp when I turn 87!  Thanks, Grandma, for letting us celebrate your special day (even if we were a few days late).  I'm so grateful we are close enough to spend time together.

"What day is it?"

"It's today," squeaked Piglet.

"My favorite day," said Pooh.

~A.A. Milne

"Besides self-denial, self-effacement, and a willingness to cooperate with God, a true servant puts his or her gifts at the disposal of the Master." 

~Elisabeth Elliot, "Be Still My Soul:  Reflections on Living the Christian Life"

My gorgeous farmers market discovery!

For the last year, the whole family has put our gifts into mama teaching orchestra.  God provided financially for our family through the sweet job while our older kids transitioned back to life in America.  Now it's time to focus again on Bible translation in the Solomon Islands and to throw everything we've got into getting our Lavukal friends the Bible in their own language.  

We've finally met the budget goal that Wycliffe has set for our lives in the Solomon Islands.  This frees Aaron to travel again and move forward on the translation project.  We still haven't met the budget goal for our time in America, but we are trusting God to be faithful to provide, just like He always has!

So we're excited to put August 26-September 16 on the calendar as Aaron's next trip to the Solomon Islands!  He's looking forward to reconnecting with the translation team.  We covet prayers as the puzzle pieces of this trip come together.

Birthday Golf

Whenever we can, we try to celebrate our double birthdays with these sweet friends.

We're pretty simple folks, so after a round of miniature golf, we drove to their house for hamburgers. A perfectly simple birthday celebration with people who constantly point us to the Lord by their faithful examples.  Of course, Sarah's fantastic birthday cheesecake sealed the deal.

I'm missing my other May birthday buddies, but I'm hopeful that we'll soon be able to celebrate with more of the persevering and encouraging people God has placed in our lives as the iron that sharpens iron.

Summertime Coffee

Now that school is out and the temperature is climbing, cold brew coffee is my constant companion!  I found this pitcher for Father's Day last year, but I think I use it more than my hubby does.

The added benefit to drinking more coffee (I go decaf after lunch) is that my flowers and mini-garden are benefitting, too!  My hydrangeas that mama started for me a few years ago are loving the extra acid from their steady diet of coffee soup.

Last Day

The last day of school.  The last day to work with the Three Muskateers.

The day to read notes from my students.  Some serious.

Some funny.

And some beautiful.

The day to laugh at funny gifts

and funny drawings with inside jokes.

The day to fight back tears.  And the day to be so very grateful for the teachers and students who have enriched my life.

Benjamin's Graduation

Benjamin recently finished up his homeschooling career, and to celebrate, we invited a few family and friends to hang out at the park with us. 

Aaron rightly described the event as more of a commencement than a graduation because Benjamin is beginning the next phase of his life.

Here is an excerpt from the speech Aaron gave:  

"Benjamin, I respect you as a man. Your laughter is contagious. Your competitive nature makes you a winner, and makes others around you better. You are full of ideas and new perspectives. When I look at you, I see a young man who has got what it takes. I’m impressed by the young man I see.

I have no doubt that your future will be full of adventure, with a few mistakes and bumps and bruises along the way. Yet, anyone with the blessing of getting to share your journey will look back from time to time, those few moments when you give yourself and others a second to catch a breath, and they will look out from the mountain peak, over a vast ocean and say, 'wow, what a ride!'”

"I sought a sword. Something about a sword still holds us in a spell. From King Arthur’s knights to light sabers. I saw an amazing blade the other day. Intricate, ornate, a real eye catcher. But that was just it, it caught the eye, would be great for a ceremony or to make an impression, but where is the action? You my son, are a man of action. Your blade needed to be a blade made for action as well. 

Based on my research, this is an M1905 bayonet. Used in the world wars, it is likely that your great grandfather or those he served with carried something like this. Much earlier in battle tactics, I learned that often the use of this was to drive the enemy from the field. In other words, it was the last stroke in securing victory. Now that, sounded like you!"

We watched a slideshow of pictures Aaron had put together to describe Benjamin's personality and growth in the last seventeen years.  Sarah snapped this picture of my hubby holding me as we revisited those years with great joy.

All of Benjamin's grandparents haven't been together since Aaron graduated from seminary in December of 2005,

so it was a special treat to have them all in the same place at the same time.

We're excited to watch Benjamin continue to grow as he heads off to join Sarah at John Brown University this fall.  I'm focusing on enjoying my summer with all six of us around the table again.

Mama's Concert Season

Even though I've been out of school for more than a week now, I still have trouble processing the massive gift God dumped in my lap for the last nine months.  Teaching orchestra is something that wasn't even on my radar.  I had volunteered to substitute teach so the students could get a good rehearsal even when the teachers needed to be absent.

Just a few weeks before school began last August, I accepted the job for one semester.  We had already begun our homeschool year.  "Choates can do hard things" rang in our ears as each of us made adjustments.  Then I accepted another semester of teaching these amazing students in the program where Aaron and I both grew up.  I was the proverbial finger in the dike, giving the students continuity until a permanent teacher could be found. 

And my heart was totally consumed by these students.  See that plaque above?  It's the Director's Award for the junior high.  What you can't read is the very first name on it:  Aaron Choate.  And a few spaces down, my sister, Rachel, claims a spot.  What a legacy of character and outstanding musicianship in this small town in Arkansas!  And I got to be a part of it for a short time.

These students played their hearts out.  Each concert, each school.  They learned more than music, they learned how endurance and perseverance makes each of us stronger.  They learned that teamwork is valuable.

My colleagues...what can I say?

They have supported and encouraged me through the steep learning curve of this year.  We have laughed together and shared frustrations and learned from each other.  Our personalities, strengths, and weaknesses have woven together to form a strong, safe, invincible bond.  We have truly accomplished much this year.

A few days after the junior high concert, my beginners played.  What a joy to watch them move from knowing absolutely nothing about their instruments to playing a fabulous concert.  I'm so proud of their work ethic!

My last concert to conduct was the seventh graders.  All four middle school around town combined forces to play with a mighty big and beautiful sound.  

Oh, how I'm going to miss seeing these special kiddos every day.  God had a way of crossing our paths with people that change our lives and who burrow their way into our hearts.

See this beautiful mama in the white shirt.  A long time ago, in this same little town, she was my first student.  I was in high school, toying with the idea of becoming an orchestra teacher, and my own conductor suggested I try teaching private lessons.  

Five lovely junior high students signed up to be my guinea pigs.  This year, I was honored to teach the daughter of my first student.  She is also a cellist and made each day brighter for me.  You never know what God might be up to!

SITAG Wedding

Once you are a part of SITAG (Solomon Islands Translation Advisory Group), you are always a part of the family.  

So, when we had the opportunity to celebrate the wedding of a former SITAG kid, we jumped at the chance to see some people who have invested their lives in Bible translation across the Pacific Ocean.

Race Day

Last year, we set a goal of running the Toad Suck 5K together as a family this year.  Part of our "get healthier and stronger" plans for America.

Sarah had freshly arrived back home from college, so she was the hairdresser for the event.  Several orchestra students participated, too:  the high school "orch dorks" who ran.

And this is the talented junior high orchestra crew who participated.  I should note that four of the five of us are cellists.  Just saying.

Aaron's mom also volunteered to run alongside Katherine and scored a personal best in the process!

None of us are speed demons, but we do enjoy races as a way to set personal goals and see growth as we steward the bodies God gave us.

Concert Season

First, the Choate kids had their own marathon of concerts.  Benjamin performed with the high school orchestra and choir,

and the three younger kids sang with Voices of Central Arkansas and the amazing Dr. CC one last time.

We're so grateful for the resources God has provided so our children can study music while we are in America.

 Mrs. Stanley is a gifted and generous teacher, and the kids are making great strides on their piano skills under her tutelage!

She even let Benjamin premier one of his compositions written for piano, viola, and cello.

When sweet friends come hear you perform a concert, the special occasion calls for a treat like Sonic's half price shakes after 8:00!